


A Favor Returned

by delphia2000



Series: The Phobias [2]
Category: Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-16
Updated: 2009-11-16
Packaged: 2017-10-03 03:09:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delphia2000/pseuds/delphia2000





	A Favor Returned

It was raining. Not a dampish drizzly kind of rain; no, this was a downpour the likes of which inspired Noah to hammer faster. Mary Margaret shivered as an errant droplet resolutely evaded the collar of her 'London Fog' trench coat and ran down the back of her neck. "Ooohh! I hate rain when it's as cold as this. Might just as well be snowing," she grumbled quietly.

"If this were snow, we'd be knee deep by morning," Kermit informed her. "WeatherNet dot com says to expect damp and dreary for the next couple of days."

She glanced around at her back-up who leaned casually against the brick wall of the apartment building, scrutinizing his watch. Their carefully chosen position in the alley, just under the fire escape gave them some respite from the deluge, but Kermit didn't seem to be bothered by the weather, which only served to make the sometimes socially inept detective all the more annoying than his usual. "I suppose you have some borderline unbelievable tale about having survived a full-blown typhoon off the coast of Jakarta or some such obscure geographical location," Skalany muttered.

"Actually, it was the Seychelles and besides, I'm a water sign; we like it wet. Rainwater is good for your hair, you know. Time for us to make our move. Peter and the good Chief should be distracting our quarry at the front door any minute now."

Pulling his gun from under his black leather trench coat, Kermit reached for the fire escape ladder, jerking it down into place with a rusty screech. "Ladies first," he invited with a grin.

Skalany stepped up carefully on the slippery, rust-crusted metal, hoping it would hold her weight. "I don't know why you're so cheerful. Don't you have something better to do than pull a double shift? Bored with lurking in chat rooms pretending to be a woman?"

Kermit's bark of laughter was somewhat muffled as he politely turned his head away to avoid looking up her skirt. "Not just any woman; I'm Elizabeth Rex. As for tonight, I need the overtime. The Kermitmobile is going to need a new set of studs this winter."

Mary Margaret paused at a window on the second floor, waiting for him to join her before she pushed tentatively on the window sash. It slid open easily. No wonder they hadn't been able to find the perp at home. He'd probably been slipping out the back way on a regular basis. Kermit shoved past her to climb carefully inside. Indignant, Mary Margaret wanted to ask him what had happened to 'ladies first' but thought better of it as she heard voices from inside. From the conversation, she guessed he hadn't opened the door yet. Peter was trying to talk him into coming out voluntarily. The last thing they wanted tonight was a gun battle in a building full of people.

The room was dim, lit from a partly open door and, apparently, a bedroom; most likely his since it smelled musty and a tad 'ripe.' What was it with men and laundry? thought Skalany. Kermit had taken a stance to one side of the door, indicating with a wave of his hand that she should position herself behind him. She glanced behind her. The alleyway, though dark, was still light enough to silhouette her against the window; she'd be an easy target if their perp discovered them. Stepping lightly, she moved to one side, crouching slightly as she brushed up against what felt like a wire box. The musky odor was stronger here she noticed, as she tried to keep track of the heated conversation going on in the other room.

Then she felt it. Cool, silky almost, and large, as if a scarf were being drawn across her foot. Like a thunderbolt, the realization hit her. The musky odor, the delicate touch...it was a snake. She bit back the immediate urge to scream and froze in place. It was going to move off her foot. It had to move! The beating of her heart pounded in her ears, drowning out the drama playing out in the other room. The snake shifted slightly and she realized it had drawn more of itself up on her foot. She trembled slightly with the 'flight or fight' instinct, digging deep to control herself. It was cold outside and the snake must have been attracted to the warmth of her skin. Like a puff of steam from a boiling teakettle, a small whimper escaped her throat.

Kermit leaned back towards her and she could barely hear his breathy "What?"

"My foot. Snake."

His intake of breath was sharp. "Don't move," he ordered quietly.

The light began to dim as he slowly pushed the door shut and she could hear him working the door knob as quietly as possible to get the door fully closed. Then a tiny beam of light popped on in the blackness and slid across the floor towards her. It was the penlight that perpetually rested in the ex-merc's pocket protector, and she blessed the computer geek for his practicality. "Um," he said.

It didn't sound like a good 'Um' or a curious one. It sounded bad. She didn't dare look down. If she looked down, she knew she would lose it. "Remember when I said, 'don't move'?" he asked her.

She nodded carefully.

"Well, I really mean it. Don't move."

That had to mean it was bad, she thought. The whimper came again and a tear slid down her cheek. The penlight moved again, searching about the room and, seconds later, a dim light came on from a bedside table. Kermit pulled the shade off the tiny bulb and then squatted down, holding the lamp near her foot. "Heat," he explained. "I'm trying to lure him off with the heat."

For a full minute, the stand-off went on, until the reptile was finally seduced by the promise of more warmth and slithered off her foot to snuggle up against the little lamp. "You know that game...Mother May I?" Kermit asked as he stood up and moved back slightly.

Again she nodded.

"Mother says take one giant step back, slowly."

Attempting to refrain from disturbing even the air molecules, Mary Margaret moved as slowly as her rising panic would allow. She didn't quit moving until the wall was at her back. She finally dared to look down. "It's not so bad," she said bravely, "it's smaller than I thought."

"It's a pit viper," Kermit informed her. "Deadly poison."

She noticed a rushing noise and the room was getting gray around the edges as Kermit's gun went off with a deadly roar and a spatter of viper blood. And then it all went dark.

*********************************

"You sure you're okay now, partner?" Peter asked gently, still holding her close to his side as they sat on the perp's broken down couch.

Skalany nodded. "I'm okay. I just feel completely stupid."

"It's not stupid. It's a phobia and you did a hell of a job controlling it according to Kermit, so you have nothing to be ashamed of," Strenlich admonished as he repacked the small med kit.

"You did, however, manage to scare a few years growth off me," Peter complained, discarding the used ampul of smelling salts from the kit which they'd used to bring her out of her faint. "When I kicked open that door after the gunshot and saw Kermit holding you like that, I thought for sure he'd finally carried out one of his termination threats."

"That would certainly be better for my reputation," Kermit acknowledged as he came into the room. "Your perp is on his way downtown, Chief, screaming for his pro bono all the way."

"I know rescuing damsels in distress isn't your usual thing, Kermit, but I'm grateful for the chivalry," Skalany thanked him.

"Chivalry? More like self-preservation. Those are the crankiest reptiles in the animal kingdom and I figured I was next."

Her usual effervescence returning, Mary Margaret bounced up off the couch and threw her arms around Kermit despite his attempt to hold her off with up-raised hands. "I won't tell a soul why you're my hero, okay? I have been known to keep a secret or two," she added smugly, looking at Peter and the Chief.

Then she planted a kiss on Kermit's cheek.

"We're missing something here," Peter accused.

Strenlich stood up, med kit in hand and headed towards the door. "Probably, but I don't want to know about it anyway."

Peter followed him, stopping at the door to add with a pointed finger, "I'll figure this out eventually. I'm a detective."

Kermit squirmed loose from Mary Margaret and straightened his tie. "Nothing to figure out, pal. Just returning a favor."

The End


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